Diver&#39;s weight



Nov. 30, 1965 CHRISTIANSEN 3,220,197

DIVERS WEIGHT Filed Jan. 26, 1962 @4455 5. Cme/sm wssu INVENTOR.

.Znz aa/ .7/a4n A True/ways.

United States Patent 3,229,197 DIVERS WEIGHT James S. Christiansen, Long Beach, Calif assignor to Sports Industries, Inc., Los Angeles, Calif a corporation of California Filed Jan. 26, 1962, Ser. No. 169,046 6 Claims. (Cl. 6170) This invention relates to a divers weight, and particularly to a weight in combination with a belt or strap.

A diver normally desires to select the amount of weight he will carry, depending upon his auxiliary equipment, and has requirements for stability.

Some prior weight structures are attached to a belt by having holes through which the belt can be threaded. This provides a secure attachment, but in order to attach or remove a weight, the ends of the belt must be be separated. This may be cumbersome, especially if the diver has all his gear on.

Clasp arrangements and prong arrangements have been provided that can fit over the top edge of the belt and be attached and removed without unfastening the belt. These arrangements have generally been unsatisfactory because they are insecure, complicated, or uncomfortable.

The primary object of this invention is to provide a novel weight for a diver that is capable of attachment to a belt or stop despite lack of access to the belt ends and that is free of the disadvantages of prior devices. For this purpose, use is made of a weight structure that in a unique manner interlocks a small loop formed in the belt. Normal belt tension and friction maintains the interlock.

Another object of this invention is to provide a divers weight that can be made as two simple parts, one a lead or like casting, and the other a pivot pin.

This invention possesses many other advantages, and has other objects which may be made more clearly apparent from a consideration of one embodiment of the invention. For this purpose, there is shown a form in the drawings accompanying and forming a part of the present specification, and which drawings, unless as otherwise indicated, are true scale. This form will now be described in detail, illustrating the general principles of the invention; but it is to be understood that this detailed description is not to be taken in a limiting sense, since the scope of this invention is best defined by the appended claims.

Referring to the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a front elevational view of a weight incorporating the present invention and attached to a belt 01' strap;

FIGS. 2 and 3 are sectional views taken along planes corresponding to lines 22 and 33 of FIG. 1; and

IG. 4 is a pictorial view of the weight alone.

In the drawings, there is illustrated a weight that may be made as a lead or equivalent casting. The weight in this instance is generally in the form of a four sided pyramidal frustum of a length or height substantially greater than its width.

The weight 10 has a rear base surface 11 that is intended to be placed against the outer surface 12 of a belt or strap 13 for purposes of attachment. The weight 10 has a through slot 14 extending along the length of the weight, and from the center of rear surface 11 to its frontal surface 15. For purposes presently to be described, the side walls 16 and 17 of the slot diverge in the forward direction.

The weight 10 is attached to the belt or strap 13 by the aid of a pin 18 that interlocks an intermediate loop 19 formed in the belt. The loop is formed by passing an intermediate portion of the belt through the slot 14 until it is accessible beyond the frontal surface 15. Thereupon the locking pin 18 is passed through the loop. The loop is drawn taut and the pin is drawn into the slot 14. This distance between the diverging side surfaces 16 and 17 of the slot 14 adjacent the rear surface 11 corresponds substantially to the diameter of the pin 18 and the distance between the surfaces 16 and 17 at the frontal surface 15 exceeds the combined dimension of the diameter of the pin 18 and twice the thickness of the typical belt or web 13. Accordingly, upon movement of the loop inwardly, the belt wedges between the slot surfaces and the pin 18, and friction achieves a secure attachment of the weight to the belt.

In order to maintain the locking pin 18 as a part of the weight 10 and to facilitate the detachment of the weight from the belt or strap 13, the locking pin 18 is pivotally mounted on an axis transverse to the slot 14 and at a shallow recess 20 adjoining the upper end of the slot 14. A pivot pin 21 driven into a transverse bore of the weight 10 extends through a mounting aperture 22 of the locking pin 18.

The lower end of the pin 18 enters a recess 23 that adjoins the lower end of the slot 14. This recess extends inwardly from the frontal surface 15 of the weight 10 and it furthermore extends downwardly to the lower surface 24 of the weight. When the loop 19 is drawn taut, the lower end of the locking pin 18 enters the recess 23 to an extent dependent upon the thickness of the belt or strap 13, or the extent of the belt movement back into the slot 14 before wedging. However, the bottom of the recess 23 limits the inward movement of the locking pin in any event.

In order to unwedge the tightly gripped belt loop 19, it is merely necessary to engage the lower end of the locking pin 19 at the access recess 23 as by a finger or any narrow tool. When the loop is accessible in front of the weight, it can be enlarged until the locking pin can pass through. The manipulation is facilitated by the use of a flexible and highly elastic or stretchable belt material.

The recesses 20 and 23 are so located and are of such size that the pin 18, when in locking position, is entirely recessed beneath the frontal surface 15 of the weight. There is thus no danger of it snagging. The normal tension in the belt 13 maintains the weight in position.

The inventor claims:

1. In combination: a weight belt having ends; a weight having a base surface contacting one side of the belt intermediate its ends, said weight having a frontal surface, said weight having a through slot extending from the frontal surface to the base surface and closed at both ends so as to be substantially circumscribed by said weight, said slot having a length at least equal to the width of said belt; and a pin pivoted on the weight at one end of the slot for movement about an axis transverse to the length of the slot, the pin being movable toward and away from the slot and being capable of occupying one position in which the pin falls along the length of said slot with the free end of the pin extending beyond the other end of the slot; said weight having a part forming a stop engageable with the said free end of said pin to determine said one position; said pin when in said one position being spaced from said base surface; said belt having an integral loop intermediate its length extending into the slot and about said pin so that the belt tension urges said pin against said stop.

2. The combination as set forth in claim 1, in which said pin when in said one position is recessed within said frontal surface.

3. The combination as set forth in claim 2, in which said weight is provided with a recess adjoining the said weight part which exposes the said free end of said pin from a direction axially beyond said free end of said pin when said pin is in said one position.

4. The combination as set forth in claim 1, in which said slot has side walls diverging relative to'each other in an outward direction, and respectively spaced from the pin when the pin is in its said one position for wedging engagement of the belt between said side walls.

5. The combination as set forth in claim 4 in which said belt is longitudinally stretchable, flexible and resilient so as to be capable of clearing the pin upon outward movement of the pin.

6. A device adapted to be detachably secured to a belt or strap, comprising a weight having a base surface adapted to be placed against the body of a diver and in juxtaposed relationship to a belt or strap, said weight also having a frontal surface; said weight having a through slot extending from the frontal surface to the base surface and closed at both ends so as to be substantially circumscribed by said weight; and a pin pivoted on the weight at one end of the slot for movement about an axis transverse to the length of the slot, the pin being movable toward and away from the slot and being capable of occupying one position in which the pin falls along the length of the slot with the free end of the pin extending beyond the other end of the slot; said weight having a part forming a stop engageable with the said free end of said pin to determine said one position; said slot having intermediate its length substantially flat side surfaces, said side surfaces diverging from the base to the surface to the frontal surface; said pin when in said one position being spaced from said base surface.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,120,420 6/1938 Topper 61-70 2,220,633 11/ 1940 Albino 224-5 2,970,448 2/1961 Di Julio 61-70 3,039,273 6/1962 Swindell 224-5 X OTHER REFERENCES U.S. Divers Pamphlet, published 1958, page 8.

CHARLES E. OCONNELL'Primary Examiner.

THOMAS J. HICKEY, JACOB SHAPIRO, EARL J.

WITMER, Examiners. 

6. A DEVICE ADAPTED TO BE DETACHABLY SECURED TO A BELT OR STRAP, COMPRISING A WEIGHT HAVING A BASE SURFACE ADPATED TO BE PLACED AGAINST THE BODY OF A DIVER AND IN JUXTAPOSED RELATIONSHIP TO A BELT OR STRAP, SAID WEIGHT ALSO HAVING A FRONTAL SURFACE; SAID WEIGHT HAVING A THROUGH SLOT EXTENDING FROM THE FRONTAL SURFACE TO THE BASE SURFACE AND CLOSED AT BOTH ENDS SO AS TO BE SUBSTANTIALLY CIRCUMSCRIBED BY SAID WEIGHT; AND A PIN BEING ON THE WEIGHT AT ONE END OF THE SLOT FOR MOVEMENT ABOUT AN AXIS TRANSVERSE TO THE LENGTH OF THE SLOT, THE PIN BEING MOVABLE TOWARD AND AWAY FROM THE SLOT AND BEING CAPABLE OF OCCUPYING ONE POSITION IN WHICH THE PIN FALLS ALONG THE LENGTH OF THE SLOT WITH THE FREE END OF THE PIN EXTENDING BEYOND THE OTHER END OF THE SLOT; SAID WEIGHT HAVING A PART FORMING A STOP ENGAGEABLE WITH THE SAID FREE END OF SAID PIN TO DETERMINE SAID ONE POSITION; SAID SLOT HAVING INTERMEDIATE ITS LENGTH SUBSTANTIALLY FLAT SIDE SURFACES, SAID SIDE SURFACES DIVERGING FROM THE BASE TO THE SURFACE TO THE FRONTAL SURFACE; SAID PIN WHEN IN SAID ONE POSITION BEING SPACED FROM SAID BASE SURFACE. 